Track Review: LA Priest — Rayon
Electronic artist Sam Eastgate, under the moniker LA Priest, bestows upon the world “Rayon,” the opening track from his forthcoming album, Into The Sky, out August 28th via Domino Recording Co. He co-wrote and co-produced the record with Alex Ridha a.k.a. Boys Noize, with sessions tracing back to lockdown, when Eastgate attempted to build a dance record entirely from samples. He then shelved it, decamped to Mexico and Costa Rica with his family, picked up a guitar, and returned with 2023’s Fase Luna instead — a set of intricately designed folk songs influenced by landscape and local mythology. Three years after Eastgate’s last full-length, “Rayon” follows previous singles “Into The Sky” and “Ever No.”
The song opens with Eastgate’s vocal arriving before anything else, and only then giving way to the gloomy synths that carry the rest of the track. It is an unusual way to begin a record, but it works: the listener is already immersed in the song before they have a chance to orient themselves. Eastgate sings as though whispering into the microphone absentmindedly, present and distant at once; the seeming tension between those two registers is what gives “Rayon” its pull. Beneath him, the synths are raw yet intricate; the analog drums land with the precision of producers who are encyclopedic about the gear they are working with. Ridha’s mix allows for all elements of the track — whether subtle or prominent — to coexist comfortably, and the result is a work of sophisticated simplicity that reveals something more with every listen.
Whether “Rayon” is representative of what Into The Sky has in store is impossible to say, and that is precisely what makes it compelling as an opener. A record shelved once and returned to years later could easily sound like a clumsy attempt at salvaging a sonic palette from the past, but on “Rayon,” Eastgate and Ridha’s unwavering effort is clearly audible, making the wait until late August genuinely suspenseful.
8.5/10
LA Priest’s latest single sets a humble yet glorious tone for his forthcoming album.
